Inspection Acclaims School’s Excellence

Bolton School Girls’ Division has received the highest judgement of being “excellent” in all categories by the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI). Meanwhile, EYFS provision received the top judgement of “outstanding” in every category.

The Inspection reported on the progress and achievement of children and young women in Years 1-13, covering Beech House (the co-educational Infants’ School), Hesketh House (the girls’ Junior School) and the girls’ Senior School. It included a section on the School’s EYFS provision in the co-educational Nursery and the Reception year at Beech House.

The main report found the three Schools to be highly successful in meeting their aim to realise the potential of each pupil, going on to say that the quality of pupils’ achievement and learning is excellent. The inspectors found pupils to have an exemplary attitude to their studies, saying that they apply their skills confidently and reach high academic standards.

The EYFS report said that the youngest pupils make excellent progress and that the School provides “outstanding” outcomes for children.

The School’s curriculum was described as excellent and comprehensive, as was the quality of teaching and the report found that “lessons are well planned and teaching is enthusiastic and benefits from outstanding subject knowledge.” The report also praised pupils who “work well together and individually, and are very successful in a wide range of extra-curricular activities including music, drama and games.”

Students’ contribution to their local community was described as “outstanding” and the School’s extensive volunteering scheme was commended.

The quality of pupils' personal development was found to be excellent and the report described them as: “self-assured, purposeful and mutually supportive”, stating that “they readily accept responsibility and assume a variety of leadership roles.” Pastoral care was found to be excellent at all stages within the School and relationships between pupils and staff were seen as strongly positive. Pupils’ behaviour was described as “exemplary”. In the EYFS, the personal development and behaviour of children were also judged to be “outstanding” and staff were commended for successfully promoting a culture of mutual respect and love for learning.

The report found the quality of governance to be excellent, praising the “strong oversight of the School, and a clearly articulated vision for its development.”

Headmistress Sue Hincks praised staff and girls in playing their part in influencing the positive report: “We were delighted with the findings and I think teachers, pupils and parents can all feel proud of the result. Our success is very much built on the relationships between home, school and pupil. We work hard to ensure the children and young people in our care are happy and content. This means that they can focus wholly on their studies and benefit from exceptional teaching. I was delighted that our EYFS provision was found to be outstanding and that it was praised for developing a love of learning; we see the benefits of this trait as the girls and boys develop further in our Junior and Senior Schools.”